Flooding in Greece — KKE: Unprotected cities and defenseless people against a rotten and hostile state

The Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued the following statement on the problems caused by storm "Daniel" throughout the country:

“Unprotected cities and defenseless people against a rotten and hostile state, which is unwilling and unable to take even basic measures of protection against natural phenomena. 

 

This is the conclusion that can be drawn from this bad weather, which has so far left two dead and four missing, destroyed infrastructure, flooded houses, shops, crops, cars etc.

 

The Capitalist Crisis: The pretext for the anti-people agenda in Greece

The text below is the speech delivered by Kostas Papadakis, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and also member of the European Parliament (MEP), during his visit in Sydney, Australia on Saturday 29th of September. 

K. Papadakis travelled to Australia in order to represent the KKE in political events, held in Melbourne and Sydney, honoring the 100 years since the founding of the KKE and the 50th anniversary of KNE:

Dear comrades, trade-unionists, friends of the CPA, cadres of the Australian trade-unions.

Greece: PAME denounces pro-government trade unionism, calls for nationwide strike on November 8th

In a statement the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) denounces the pro-governmental, anti-workers stance of the majority of the Executive Committee of the General Confereration of Greek Workers (GSEE) which, during a meeting on October 8th, rejected the proposal for a General Strike on November 8th. 

According to PAME, the forces of the employer and government-led trade unionism argued that the workers... "must wait for the developments", while they unleashed slanders against PAME. More specifically, among other things, the statement of PAME writes:

Parliamentary politics and the communist party: the electoral arena, experience and lessons from Greece and the KKE

By Giorgos Marinos*.

We would like to thank the South African Communist Party for giving us the opportunity to attempt to share some basic elements from the experience of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) with our comrades. In our opinion, the exchange of views on the issues of class struggle and the communist movement enhances our knowledge and experience.

Introduction

The KKE was founded as a party of the working class one century ago, in November 1918, as a result of the merging of the labour movement with scientific communism, under the decisive impact of the Socialist October Revolution.

Greek maritime workers defy shipowners-government, continue their 48-hour strike

Defying the threats and warnings from the shipowning companies and the SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government, Greece's maritime workers continue for a 2nd day their strike over labor rights and collective agreements.

The 48-hour national strike was organized by Greece’s seamen federation (PNO), which said in a statement that negotiations with the sector’s employers over a new collective agreement that would include wage increases did not bear fruit. In its statement, PNO said that “for eight consecutive years, the seamen have not received not even a one-euro increase” and asked for passengers’ understanding and support.

Workers at Greece's Piraeus port denounce intimidation tactics by COSCO

Workers of the COSCO shipping giant at the Port of Piraeus are outraged by an incident that took place last week and shows the terrorist methods used by the Chinese multinational. 

More specifically, as the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) refers in a statement, under the commands of COSCO, unidentified henchmen assaulted the President of the COSCO Workers' Union Markos Bekris, thus causing him injuries.

PAME states that "the attack took place last week during the Union’s briefing to the workers, in the middle of the day, while the union is on procedures of collective bargaining."

Wildfires in Greece: A Capitalist Crime

At least 84 people are dead and 187 injured. The number of those missing is still unknown. Thousands of properties have been turned into ashes. The results of the deadly wildfires which affected the region of Attica are devastating.

The SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government has unleashed an outrageous communicative campaign in order to throw the blame for the disaster somewhere else, except from itself. They blame the “weather”, the “climate change”, the supposedly “unprecedented weather conditions”, the “wind”, etc.

Greek debt deal: KKE slams government's celebrations, warns of new harsh policies

“The government's celebrations can not hide that yesterday's Eurogroup agreement is essentially a post-memorandum Memorandum [of austerity]. The so-called "post-memorandum" period, not only will not be accompanied by substantial relief for the working-class strata but will involve new burdens. The huge budget surpluses, the rigid surveillance and approval of the process of "reforms" by the "institutions", the privatizations, the preservation of all antipeople measures in the Memorandums, and the completion of all those “remaining issues” reveal the true outcome of the agreement" points out the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) in a statement on the Eurogroup decision on Greek debt.

Three years of SYRIZA government in Greece

"Everything was easier with Tsipras and Tsakalotos. It's a completely different situation." This particular statement, made a few days ago by Jeroen Dijsselbloem in his last interview as the head of the Eurogroup, could be an excellent headline in the chapter "Three years of SYRIZA-ANEL governance".

During this time, taking the towel of antipeople policy from ND and PASOK, the SYRIZA-ANEL government has managed in a record time to complete a series of dirty missions for the capital, that the former [governments] left in the middle, earning the credit from the "hawks", as SYRIZA was calling the representatives of the EU and the IMF in the past.

KKE: "Syriza and New Democracy compete with each other on who is the best executioner of the workers' rights"

"The New Democracy party, apparently being perplexed as long as the SYRIZA-ANEL government has taken its job, bids in anti-worker proposals and competes with SYRIZA on who is the best executioner of the workers' rights" writes, among other things, a recent statement of the Press Office of the CC of the KKE. 

Earlier, in a statement, the centre-right opposition party of New Democracy (ND) had expressed disagrements with some of the provisions of the new antiworkers' bill forwarded by the government. However, ND agrees on the new law's amendment which actually tries to abolish the right of the workers to strike. 

Greek workers on the streets: Action and strike on January 12th against the new antipeople measures

The All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) calls workers, youth, pensioners, the unemployed, farmers, the self-employed, all the people to massive, militant action. The government brings a new series of anti-workers measures. They must receive a dynamic response.

The SYRIZA-ANEL Government are imposing the demands of big capital, bringing a new round of measures of "fiscal adjustment" and of suppression of workers'-people’s struggles, with number one goal to ban our right to strike, and also to expand auctioning off of workers houses, so as to protect the profitability of business groups.

Workers in Greece respond with new nationwide strike to the antipeople policy of SYRIZA government

The Greek Government of SYRIZA (which is in alliance with the far-right ANEL party) prepares the escalation of the attack against the workers and the popular strata of Greece.

The last memorandum with its new prerequisites leads to a new round of attack against the life of the working-people families, as over the next few months the government is to complete a massive amount of anti-peoples’ measures so as to declare the supposed “end of the memorandums”. Measures already agreed with the EU-IMF-ECB and which are demanded by the industrialists, ship-owners, the bankers etc, since they serve their competitiveness and profits.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS regarding the current political situation in Greece

Odigitis International Edition
(October 2017) Front Page.

The following article is republished from the International Edition (October 2017) of "Odigitis" monthly, Organ of the CC of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE).

It is reasonable for a youngster following international developments to wonder about the situation in Greece and to express interest precisely for the last two years that the government of Greece has been assigned to a “left” party. That party (SYRIZA) added 2 new memorandums and additional barbaric measures crashing the rights and conquests of the people. Finally, after so many measures voted, they declare that “we are approaching growth, from which all of us are going to benefit”. However, is it like this? In this article we are trying to give answers about the real situation in Greece, about the way out in favor of the people, the one that KKE proposes, through three questions that often people make. 

Greek state budget: Tsipras' government is doing the "dirty job" on behalf of the capitalists

Speaking yesterday in the Parliament during the discussion on state budget, Prime Minister Tsipras developed the narrative of "post-memorandums Greece", while presenting his government as the most capable to guarantee the recovery of the capitalists' profitability. 

PM Tsipras, bypassing the class content and character of the 2018 state budget- which, like the previous ones consists a tool for the implementation of the strategy of the capital, by attacking people's rights, cutting social spending, providing even more tax exemptions to large business groups, etc- said with certainly that "this is the last memorandum budget, we are now doing different things with different results". 

Pafilis (KKE): The government of SYRIZA whitewashes the capitalist system

Thanasis Pafilis.

Speaking in the Parliament about the 2018 state budget, the Communist Party of Greece MP Thanasis Pafilis denounced both SYRIZA and the opposition party of New Democracy for their efforts to disorientate the people about the real enemy- capitalism. As Pafilis said, behind their disputes, SYRIZA and New Democracy try to relieve popular dissatisfaction within the same system, the power of the monopolies and the capital which exploits the wealth produced by the people. 

For that reason, the KKE MP underlined, the EU, the representatives of capitalism, the industrialists congratulate the SYRIZA-ANEL government. 

Pafilis also said that the government lies when it argues that by August 2018 the austerity memorandums will end, as long as none of the 600 laws will be abolished, while the implementation of antipeople measures has been scheduled to continue in 2019, 2020, even by 2060.

"Message for the struggle's escalation" - Militant strike mobilization in Greece against antiworkers policies

A message for the escalation of struggle against the antipeople-antiworkers policies of the SYRIZA coalition government was today's militant strike mobilizations across Greece. 

In Athens, the organised by the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME), demonstration began at Omonoia Square and through the city center passed towards the U.S. embassy, as a symbolic action against the recent Trump's decision on Jerusalem. 

General Strike on December 14th in Greece - Workers to give a powerful response to SYRIZA government

Source: All-Workers Militant Front.

Last week in Greece, the working class witnessed a series of incidents that showed a strong escalation of state oppression and employers' intimidations against workers

The workers of supermarkets in Ioannina, the students and the workers of the Universities, outside the Ministry of Education, but also the protesters in the courts against the banks auctioning off peoples’ homes, were not the first to suffer persecutions, arrests, violent repression and tear gas.

The over 18 months unpaid workers of the super markets of Ioannina who struggle for their right to work and their salaries, the students who in the year 2017 literally demand a decent meal and the workers who protect their homes, were within a few hours targeted by the SYRIZA-ANEL government.

KKE: Tsipras government's "social dividend" consists crude and shameless propaganda

In an effort to disorient public opinion from the agenda of the upcoming new antipeople measures, Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras made an unscheduled television appearance on Monday night to announce a €1.4bn “social dividend” to be paid next month to more than 3m Greeks who have been hit hardest by the country’s seven-year recession and the antiworkers-antipeople policies implemented by the governments of ND, PASOK and SYRIZA. The handout would include €720m in one-off payments for low-income Greeks and €315m in rebates for earlier cuts in healthcare payments, Premier Tsipras said. 

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued a statement denouncing the Prime Minister's announcements as "crude and shameless propaganda". More specifically, the statement of the Press Office of the CC of the KKE writes:

D. Koutsoumbas: "We continue on the road opened by the October Socialist Revolution. For the victory, for Socialism - Communism"

Speech by the Secretary General of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas in the political event of the 43rd KNE-Odigitis Festival in Athens. Source: inter.kke.gr: 

"Friends and comrades,

The future is here! The future is here, at the 43rd festival of KNE and ODIGITIS, in this beautiful picture of the enlightened future world which all visitors can admire.

The future is here, in the Tritsi park, in the center of the western Attica, which has been transformed into a red city thanks to the volunteer work and will of our KNE’s members and friends.

You can see the future in the faces of the thousands of young people who are determined to fight for a life with modern rights to work, education, life,  sports and culture. That’s the origin of our slogan, “Youth does not bow its head, it attacks and struggles alongside the KKE!”

Tsipras-Varoufakis: Loyal servants of the capitalist system

By Nikos Mottas*. 

During the last few days we are witnessing a highly hypocritical “blame game” between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis. In his latest book titled “Adults in the room”, Varoufakis tries to present himself as a “fighter” who resisted Europe's “deep establishment”.

In his “political thriller”, the ex-finance minister describes how the Tsipras government handled the negotiations with its creditors, outlining the role each government official played during that period. As for his former collaborator, Varoufakis writes among other things: “Alexis Tsipras appears totally overwhelmed, unable to collide with his own consultants who were pro loan agreement, in some cases he was totally manipulated by the ‘internal’ and ‘external’ Troika”.